Kaidan Game Train: Abide Rule or Die!
Chapter 866: First Round Showcase

Chapter 866: Chapter 866: First Round Showcase

Separated by a screen, neither side choosing the spheres could see the other’s selection. Number 73 loudly said, "Friend, let’s both choose white balls, it’s safe for everyone if we do, and this round, whoever goes on the mission is up to luck!"

The black, white, and yellow balls represented task difficulties of 75%, 25%, and 50% respectively.

If both sides chose a white or a black ball simultaneously, the task difficulty would be the same, and who went first would be randomly chosen. In this scenario, choosing white balls was the safest bet.

For one, the task difficulty was the lowest, and secondly, an individual’s choice in the first round set the difficulty level for subsequent rounds. If the starting point was too high, when it came time to switch teammates, the only scenario left might be mutual slaughter. If number 73 chose a black ball in the first round, then he could only choose black balls in every following round. Even if he was lucky enough to defeat his teammate this round, the next teammate wouldn’t have any choice but black, and the second to die would be him.

But there was another option with the yellow ball. Although the yellow ball represented a task difficulty of 50%, if both sides chose to complete the task together, the difficulty would decrease to 25%, the same as the white ball, and it would be completed by two people at the same time.

From what was known of the game rules, choosing a yellow ball and then opting to complete the task together was the safest strategy.

However, there was an issue with this as well—it required both people to share the risk in the first task of the first round, whereas choosing randomly gave the chance to escape the risk of the first round, and it was uncertain how many would remain in the second round.

Xu Huo stood at the side of the glass screen, arms crossed, watching the two making their choices.

Number 164 didn’t answer his teammate’s call, his eyes fixated on the three balls, visibly tense.

"Brother, say something!" His silence made number 73 anxious; he slowly moved from in front of the white ball towards the yellow one.

Number 164 finally spoke up, his throat a bit hoarse, and after coughing he said, "I... I’ll choose the white ball too..."

Number 73 breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at the countdown on the screen, "Then we have an agreement, both choose the white ball!"

Though he said so, he didn’t move from his spot, his eyes glued on the yellow ball in front of him.

The three-minute countdown was quickly drawing to a close, and in the final five seconds, both reached out their hands. Number 73 touched the projected sphere first, causing someone among the onlookers to let slip a surprised "huh." Across, number 164’s face changed, and he immediately switched to grabbing a black ball!

After the countdown, the choices were projected into the plaza’s airspace, the host’s voice filling the projection area, injecting emotion as he said, "Today’s first group of guests didn’t start off well for everyone, number 73 chose the yellow ball for his teammate, while number 164 chose the black ball! From the projection record, it can be seen that number 164 originally intended to choose the white ball, but for some reason, he changed his mind in the last two seconds. What a shame."

He stated it casually, but number 73 and number 164 were almost at blows, the former yelling furiously, "You deceitful scoundrel!"

Number 164 shot back just as strongly, "You were the one who said to choose the white ball, yet you chose yellow. If not for my last-minute change of mind, I would probably be the one dead, wouldn’t I?"

"Sounds righteous! You clearly planned to choose black all along, who are you trying to fool?" Number 73 retorted, "This round is me, the next will be you. You think after choosing black, anyone will be waiting to be your next victim?"

Number 73 had a point; number 164 had skirted the first round, but in the next switch, it would be his turn.

His face turned white as he maintained a brave front, "Since we’re switching teammates, the next round will surely be random..."

"Unless both parties are people who haven’t been randomly selected, the mission for the next round will be carried out by the person left in the plaza from the last round." The host shattered his illusions, and passionately continued, "Now let’s see where our first guest of today has been randomly selected to undertake his mission!"

The plaza’s dome screen flickered with varying intensities of light, and finally, a square right above number 73 brightened, projecting the shadow of a tree.

"Congratulations to our number 73, the location of your task is the Botanical Garden!"

"The Botanical Garden?" Number 73 tried to remain calm, "What place is the Botanical Garden?"

"It seems our number 73 can’t wait!" The host laughed heartily, a non-transparent screen appearing at his side as he looked at it and spoke, "Our audience friends know that all the adventure tasks in ’Everyone’s Good, Hello I’m Good’ programme are proposed by the children of Sea World, their pure visions of friendship are full of fantasy and aspiration... But today’s audience doesn’t seem to like number 73 very much, with more than half of the spectators voting to increase the task difficulty. So far, this number is still rising."

A pallor washed over number 73’s face before the host buoyed his spirits again, "As a host, of course, I want all our audience friends to have a good time, but since we are welcoming guests, even though this guest might not be the friend we anticipated, at Sea World, we have an abundance of generosity. Besides, even to those who betray friendship, we should still offer them a chance for redemption."

Amidst applause and booing from the crowd, the host announced the mission topic: "The task randomly chosen for number 73 is to plant a ’Hand-in-Hand’ tree."

As soon as the host finished speaking, the floor disappeared beneath number 73’s feet, and before he could even let out a shout, the floor that snapped back in place covered him again.

Seconds later, a new projection appeared in the air above the plaza, and the just-vanished number 73 was now in a densely planted forest. The projection wasn’t large enough to see the entirety of the surrounding trees, but from the branches and leaves alone, it was clear everything was oversized. Number 73 stood amongst it all, almost half-buried by the foliage. After a few steps, he suddenly sank down, the nearby plants trembled slightly like a ripple on water, then quickly quieted.

"What a pity, number 73 did not complete his task." The host severed the projection, and in the space above the plaza, an image of the Giant Python feeding appeared. The Python, thicker than a human, devoured an adult effortlessly, with only a pair of shoes belonging to number 73 left outside the beast.

"Botanical Garden! What the hell kind of Botanical Garden is this!" Someone shouted angrily, "Who could survive going in there? Why is a common person’s task so difficult! Shouldn’t such places be for the players?!"

"If the guests have any complaints, they can report them to the relevant departments after the show ends." The host replied courteously, "The competition continues."

Then on the central large screen, another pair of numbers appeared.

No matter how reluctant, someone stepped forward; this time it was a player against a common person.

Number 229 told the player, "The task difficulty for players is different from that for ordinary people; you have no advantage."

The player appeared to be a gentle person, "I’m well aware, you don’t have to worry about me suddenly changing my mind like the previous person, we can choose the yellow ball, if we complete the task together, the odds of us both living are greater."